Cape condo market posts mixed first-quarter results

May 5, 2017

In the recently concluded first-quarter of 2017, the Cape Coral condominium market had mixed results, showing signs of both strength and stagnancy. As an example, in the overall Cape Coral condo market, the month of March had the highest single monthly total of condo units sold going back over the past 11 years, which led to a strong first-quarter in sales.

The median sales price was also higher in March, which was good news. But looking back since the fourth quarter of 2015, when the average quarterly median sales price was $143,167 per month, our overall condo market has been stuck in a quarterly median sales price range of between $128,000 and $141,667 per month. Or, in other words, stagnant.

Having some stagnancy in the market is not necessarily a bad thing, as it can help keep the market more rational, preventing it from getting overheated. As a case in point, the quarterly average median sales price in the overall Cape condo market is still 21.87 percent below where it was in the first-quarter from 10 years ago, when it stood at $181,333 per month.

Overall, there were 89 Cape Coral condominiums sold in March, which was 39 percent higher than the 64 condos sold a year ago, in March 2016, and 64.8 percent above the 54 condos sold in February of this year. In the first quarter 2017, there were 187 condos sold, up 17.6 percent over the 159 sold in the first quarter 2016, and 27.2 percent higher than the 147 condos sold in the fourth quarter 2016.

The median sales price for Cape Coral condominiums overall in the month of March was $150,000. This was 8.7 percent higher than the $138,000 posted in March 2016, and 7.14 percent better than the $140,000 from February of this year. In the first quarter of 2017, the median sales price averaged $141,667 per month, up only 2.16 percent from the average of $138,667 per month in the first quarter 2016, and up less than 1 percent from the fourth quarter 2016 average of $140,333 per month, remaining range-bound for 5 quarters.

Gulf access canal condos

There were 38 gulf access canal condos sold in Cape Coral in March, up 26.67 percent from the 30 sold in March 2016, and 72.7 percent higher from the 22 condos sold in February of this year. In the first quarter 2017, there were 77 gulf access condos sold, which was down 6.1 percent from the 82 sold in the first quarter a year ago, and 10 percent above the 70 sold in the fourth quarter 2016. This was the slowest first quarter in gulf access condos sold since 2014, when there were 76 sold. The weakness was due to a slow January, with only 17 units sold, which was the lowest number of gulf access condos sold in a single month since only 13 were sold back in November 2014.

The median sales price for Cape Coral gulf access canal condos in March was 25.96 percent higher, at $174,139, compared to $138,250 in March 2016. But this number is skewed a bit by the fact that March of last year was the lowest single monthly total for median sales prices in all of 2016. This March edged 2.43 percent above the $170,000 from this February. In the first quarter of 2017, the median sales price for gulf access condos averaged $173,046 per month, up 8.55 percent from an average of $159,417 per month in the first quarter of 2016, but up less than 1 percent from the fourth quarter 2016 average of $171,500 per month.

Sailboat access canal condos

For Cape Coral sailboat access canal condominiums, which are a subgroup of gulf access condos, there were 18 condos sold in March, up 50 percent from the 12 sold in March 2016, and 38.46 percent higher from the 13 condos sold in February of this year. In the first quarter of 2017, there were 36 sailboat access canal condos sold, which was down 10 percent from the 40 sold in the first quarter 2016, and 5.88 percent above the 34 sold in the fourth quarter 2016. As with the gulf access condos, this was the slowest first quarter for sailboat access condos sold since 2014, when there were 32 sold. The first quarter of 2017 got off to a slow start with only 5 units sold in January, marking the slowest January since 2012, when there were 4 units sold.

The median sales price for Cape Coral sailboat access canal condos was up 24.6 percent to $186,902 in March, compared to $150,000 in March 2016. However, the March 2016 number was the lowest month of last year, making this year-over-year increase less impressive. This March was also up by 6.8 percent versus February at $175,000. In the first-quarter of 2017, the median sales price for sailboat access canal condos was down 2.21 percent to an average of $184,801 per month, from $188,983 per month in the first quarter of 2016, and down by 7.63 percent from the $200,067 per month posted in the fourth quarter of 2016. This property group is also still below its recent quarterly peak, with an average of $204,733 per month reached in the second-quarter 2015. That quarter included the recent high for a single month of $282,500 in June 2015, leaving the quarterly median sales prices for sailboat access condos stuck in a range between $183,233 to $200,067 per month since then.

Dry lot condos

Sales of dry lot (non-canal) Cape Coral condos ramped higher both in March and for the first quarter, as this has been the strongest performing condo segment so far in 2017. There were 40 condos sold in March, which was 33.33 percent higher than the 30 dry lot condos sold in March 2016, and 53.85 percent above the 26 sold this February. Dry lot condos had their strongest first quarter results in the last 11 years, with 90 condos sold between January 1 and March 31. This was 45.16 percent above the 62 condos sold in the first quarter of 2016, and 42.86 percent above the 63 dry lot condos sold in the fourth quarter of 2016.

The median sales price of $142,500 in March, was the highest single monthly total in dry lot condos since January 2007, when it came in at $181,000. This March was 8.41 percent above the $131,450 registered in March 2016, and 26.51 percent higher than this February, at $116,900. The strong month of March led the first quarter of 2017 to a quarterly average median sales price of $121,693 per month, which was 26 percent higher than the $96,550 per month in the first quarter of 2016, and 5.9 percent above the $114,917 from the fourth quarter 2016. This year also marked the highest first quarter average monthly median sales price since averaging $142,833 per month back in 2007.

(The March 2017, and first-quarter 2017, sales data for this article was obtained from the Florida Realtors Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, as of April 28, 2017, and compiled by Bob and Geri Quinn. It includes information specifically for Cape Coral low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise condominiums, along with attached and detached villas, and townhouses. It does not include single-family homes, foreclosures or short sales. The data and statistics are believed to be reliable, however, they could be updated and revised periodically, and are subject to change without notice. The Quinns are a husband and wife real estate team with Century 21 Birchwood Realty Inc., in Cape Coral. They have lived in Cape Coral for over 37 years. Geri has been a full-time Realtor since 2005, and Bob, who also holds a Certified Financial Planner designation, joined with Geri as a full-time Realtor in 2014. Their real estate practice is mainly focused on Cape Coral residential property and vacant lots.)